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Saturday, May 28, 2011

Is the hulking robot that is Battles newest album getting you down? Not to worry because Three Trapped Tigers is back to save your soul from eternal damnation. As posted previously on the swords this three piece is one of my more favorite newer groups. The hotly anticipated first full length is out now and its a beast. Refined song focus finds these gents blasting through twisting electro math anthems and I couldn't be happier. Sometimes after incredible EP's promising bands can fall flat trying to put together something with legs. Route One or Die only proves that we can expect more releases to come.

Tonight, I got to see an incredibly intense hockey game in small company at my friend Nates house, where during the breaks i would talk hiphop with my man greg v. Since i started listening to all this wu-tang/ dr. dre, greg has told me the next step is checking out ODBs first solo album, Return to the 36 Chambers. Shit has songs like Shimmy Shimmy Ya and Brooklyn Zoo, and was a necessary next step.

I got home from victory, putting the Bruins into the finals since 1990! Right when all this great action was being formulated. Return to.. came out in 1995, and was a very tight album by the original members, back when wu-tang was created by RZA, GZA and ODB as cousins interested in making hiphop together. It shows how tight these 3 work together, but moreso how well RZA could produce an album, and that the addition of the other members of the wu-tang crew only expanded his sound on the MC level; his skills on the mixing board (not to mention loop digging) provide the atmosphere and rhythm that the wu-tang clan fed off of. I mean, any legit MC would never have balked at rhyming over a jam like Brooklyn Zoo, right?

Effortless. That is about the best I could possibly come up with. There are groups out there right now trying very hard to do this exact shtick, everyone of them fall short. Jardín de la Croix is indeed from Madrid Spain yet there is very little here that tips their hands to this fact. You hate to even break something this self assured into a category but its progressive and instrumental to be sure. Mathy? yea like more than a little. Some classy as fuck tapping? it litters the landscape. The kicker is each of these are balanced in such a way that nothing is over cooked or too rare. What I will say that gives it a nice edge without losing step is the clear metal influence going on here. No you wont find a chugging break down going on but more in spirit. Every god forsaken instrument here is playing a vital role in the furthering of each passage. Structure wise you'll be listening intently to see where the hell these guys are going next. truthfully I was stuck on the first two songs for so long because it wasn't making sense how flawless this really is. Yes I did say flawless and you know what that means.....stop reading and get to get getting.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Lately, i have been posting more hiphop than anything else, and i feel it is at the point that i should post something different; although the majority of my music lately has been greatly influenced by my friends recommendations in the hip hop world, i have recently got a bunch of stuff worthy of sharing. Videos to follow: i picked up a Sam Cooke retrospective album, full of forgotten goodies from my childhood; i picked up some Sloan, a band i am unfamiliar with but i bought on a whim off another glowing review on the AV Club; and the one hitting my stereo most frequently, Telekinesis.

Again, i read a great review of his most recent album and neglected it for a few months, and on a random trip to newbury comics i picked up 12 Straight Desperate Lines. The credits on the album are split between Michael Lerner and Chris Wallace, with lerner writing most of the music and wallace coming in on auxiliary instruments. If this was a bedroom-studio album, its a gem in the art form; it plays like Weezer meets Elliot Smith. Just great, catchy simple rock pop with nice vocals and production. Please Ask For Help is a single from it, and i do say it rocks:

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Portland based math rock quartet with a dual guitar attack that is equally indebted to post hardcore as math rock. Some would say its a bit emo but I dont think thats a fair tag more in feeling than anything else. The vocals help tie things together as things can get a little carried away. When the guitarists are trying to be melodic they succeed in spades but when things get a bit crowded its hard to gain a feel. It should be noted also that the drummer rips it up hard. Aside from some minor quibbles this is a great release for a fairly new group. Its worth the look see trust me.

Ok, this is just a reminder to all you boston fools who may have forgotten that the FUCKING organ beats are playing a GODDAMNED show on a FUCKING BOAT on JUNE FUCKING 3RD with MELLOW BRAVO and VIVA VIVA, so go fuck yourselves and get some tickets.

Also, they are playing a show on friday may 27th at ralphs diner in worcester. Should be awesome; i posted about the Beats a month ago in a more in-depth article here, but just as a current reminder of how sweet they are, heres another video of theirs, the title track from their 2009 album Sleep When We Are Dead:

Monday, May 23, 2011

I am now at the point in my hiphop history lesson that i am listening to some of the dopest shit from the early 90s: pete rock and cl smooth have been kicking my ass, main source have been wrecking me daily; the chronic is a masterpiece so closely tied to Doggystyle that they may as well have been a double disc album; and now, at long last, The Wu-Tang Clan.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Holy fancy get ready to have your lives enriched. Anyone even vaguely familiar with the Japanese math rock scene should be instantly familiar with the duo Ruins. Well this venture is Tatsuya Yoshida, the powerhouse drummer of Ruins and Ono Ryoko, a highly skilled Japanese improv. alto sax player. These songs are reworkings of older Ruins songs with guitar replaced by the sax.....a lot of saxophones. Think of some of the most rip roaring jazz with equal parts twisted prog and your starting to get close. This stuff is a dense mother and can be a bit much at times but it's certainly unique in its execution. An absolute not to miss album. TIME CHANGES WHERE YOU AT?!

Before yesterday, i did not own any Wu-Tang Clan. A post is in the works for 36 Chambers/ Wu-Tang Forever, but in the meantime i wanted to do a quick post on the only album related to the Wu-Tang Clan that i am familiar with, Raekwons 1995 solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. This shit is so great, so classic. I dont really need to say much about it; this video speaks well enough for its awesomeness. Definitely my favorite track off the album.